Some Things Never Change
by Reena Sickle
Summary: InuYasha and Co. are in search for the fragments of the Shikon no Tama
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any of the InuYasha characters**

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The sun rose over the horizon, its warm rays filtered through the slated window of the hut a hanyou and his youkai and human companions were occupying. Inside a small youkai kitsune child rubbed his eyes sleepily at the harsh sunlight beckoning him awake and burrowed deeper into the blanket to block out the sun. The kitsune's movements awoke the raven haired girl he shared sleeping space with, the girl was accustomed to this, it was often that she shared her bed with the kitsune when in the Feudal Era. 

This morning was no different than any other morning Kagome –a typical 20th century, Japanese schoolgirl – had spent in the times of Sengoku-Jidai, it was sunny and the air smelled of freshly fallen dew. Kagome sat up and breathed in the clean air, it was a welcome change from the polluted smog choked air in her time of 20th century Tokyo. Judging by the position of the sun Kagome approximated that it was still pretty early, so with taking care not to wake Shippou-chan, the still sleeping kitsune; Kagome untangled herself from the blanket and made to go out to the hot spring she had spotted the night before when they had stopped to make camp.

Kagome was about to walk through the burlap that served as a door to the hut when the call of her name from behind stopped her. "Where are you going, Kagome-chan?" Sango, the only other human female in their little group was sitting up and rubbing her eyes, "Ohayo, Sango-chan" said Kagome and she turned around to face the skilled taijiya. "Anou...Where are you going?" Sango asked again a little annoyed that Kagome had discarded her question and was now rummaging through her over stuffed bag. "Hush, you'll wake Miroku-sama" Kagome said and gestured wildly for Sango to lower her voice; "Houshi-sama?" Sango whispered.

"Hai, I'm going for a swim in that hot spring we spotted last night" Kagome said as she made to leave the hut again this time holding a towel; "Aa, I'll come with you" Sango said as she untangled herself from her bedding as Kagome had done moments before. Being careful not to wake the others, the two girls left for what they hoped to be a relaxing and undisturbed dip in the spring.

A short while later Kirara started to stir, the twin tail youkai neko would have normally curled up and gone back to sleep; but the absence of her master made her nervous and scared and she leapt into Houshi-sama's lap.

Miroku had been asleep against the wall directly under the window, his legs were crossed and his staff rested across his lap, ready to be used should they have come under attack in the middle of the night. A light pressure between his legs awoke the houshi, but this pressure was different than the one Miroku was accustomed to feeling upon awaking, and he couldn't remember having had dreams before being awaken. Looking down into his lap Miroku was met with a pair of large pleading red eyes; Kirara cocked her head to one side as if to ask "Are you awake?" before she scampered up Miroku's robes to his shoulder where she sat nudging his cheek and meowing a desperate plea of "Help me find Sango!" Now fully awake, Miroku could see what had made Kirara so anxious, both Sango's and Kagome-sama's beds were empty.

After removing the nervous neko from his shoulder (not such an easy task, he'd have a talk with Sango later about trimming her companion's claws) he did a few stretches then made his way over the hanyou sleeping against the opposing wall. "Ne, InuYasha, wake up!" Miroku urged, and gave the hanyou a nudge with his foot, "Keh. What do you want?" InuYasha growled. "Sango and Kagome-sama are gone", Miroku answered; "gone?" yawned InuYasha trying to shake off sleep; "Hai, gone" came the houshi's reply. Surveying the small hut InuYasha could see Sango's large weapon resting next to Kagome's bow and arrows, "Chikushou, they're unarmed" he growled.

"Shippou...Shippou..." Miroku called, shaking the small kitsune child all the while "Shippou..."; "Go away" whined Shippou as he was reluctantly pulled from his sleep. "Do you know where Sango and Kagome-sama went?" asked a concerned Miroku; "Iie...Iie, I've been asleep this whole time" answered Shippou before falling back to sleep.

"Ahh! This is heavenly!" Exclaimed Kagome sinking in to the hot water till it reached her chin; "Hai!" Agreed Sango, "It's nice to relax without having to worry about Houshi-sama spying on us". Kagome giggled, she knew Sango-chan held feelings for Miroku-sama and it was more than obvious that Miroku-sama held those same feelings for Sango-chan; but after countless ploys to try to get the two to share there feeling for one another Kagome had started to loss faith that they ever would.

"GYAH!" Sango suddenly cried, she had just noticed the sun's now high position in the sky, "We should get back, InuYasha and Houshi-sama will have woken up by now" said Sango. "Alright, I'm getting pruny anyhow" said Kagome as she stood from the water; they both dried off and got dressed, Kagome, after having dried off used her towel to wrap her hair in a sort of towel turban atop her head, Sango left her hair down to air dry.

As the girls walked back to the hut they became greatly aware of how hungry they were, it was way passed breakfast time and lunch would be their first meal of the day. Sango's stomach growled and then as in agreement Kagome's did, both girls giggled and not wanting to keep their stomachs waiting they broke into a run. "T-the-- boy-s-s- mu-s-t be st-ar-arv-ing" breathed Sango, holding her side and gasping for air. "Th-ere is-- so-me in-st-an-t-- ra-men in my-y b-ba-ck- pac-k, InuYa-sh-a-a will snif-ff it ou-t" Kagome answered, she was breathing hard and running had caused her oddly balanced towel turban to unravel and flap in her face.

They stopped running a few yards away from the hut to catch their breath then walked the rest of the way. Upon entering the hut they saw that Kagome had been right, empty ramen cups littered the dirt floor and by the looks of it both InuYasha and Shippou were on their third helpings. "Ahem!" Kagome stomped her foot to get the two greedy gobblers' attention; "Umph, Konnichi-wa, Kagome" InuYasha greeted after swallowing a mouthful of ramen. "GYAH! HOW CAN YOU HAVE SO LITTLE REGARD FOR OTHER PEOPLE?" Kagome shrieked and advanced upon the hanyou; "Keh, you can't place all the blame on me, Shippou ate just as much, though I don't know how the little shrimp put so much away in that little body of his." Said InuYasha, he tried to sound defensive but he was cowering in fear from the thought of what Kagome's next word might be. "Grr...OSUWARI!" Came Kagome's command and InuYasha crashed to the ground, sending empty ramen cups bouncing across the floor.

"I'm afraid to ask but what's going on in here?" Miroku asked from behind Kagome, "Eh..." Kagome said as she turned around to face the houshi. She hadn't noticed he hadn't been there when she had entered the hut, she had been to focused on InuYasha and Shippou-chan eating their food rations for that week. "Anou, Houshi-sama, where were you?" Sango asked, she had witnessed the fiasco that had just unfolded and wanted to direct attention away from it before it started up again. "Oi. I was out looking for you and Kagome-sama, InuYasha was worried that you might get into trouble without your weapons" Miroku answered; at hearing that Kagome stomped out of the hut obviously still very annoyed.

"Feh. What's her problem?" Asked InuYasha who had gotten up from his previous splayed position and was now sitting with the soles of his feet touching and arms crossed. "InuYasha no baka, you ate all the food" explained Shippou, "So did you" InuYasha retorted, "I'm not to blame anymore than you, runt" InuYasha had his fist raised above Shippou's head. "Hold on for just a minute, InuYasha" said Miroku and grabbed InuYasha's wrist before it came into contact with Shippou's skull, "Now, you both owe Kagome-sama an apology-yes Shippou, you too must apologize" Miroku spoke in his know-all tone of voice.

"Fine, I'll go" said Shippou, "C'mon InuYasha lets go find Kagome-chan and apologize." Not having much of a choice InuYasha reluctantly got up and let Shippou lead him out of the hut, leaving Miroku and Sango to be alone. "Maybe we should tidy up a bit" said Sango feeling slightly uncomfortable; she quickly moved to pick up Kagome's forgotten towel which had fallen unnoticed during her rant at InuYasha. The damp towel was covered in dirt and sand and though Sango knew it would be impossible to clean by just brushing at the dirt with her hand she did it anyway, anything to make herself look busy.

Glad to have something to do to help ease the thick tension, Miroku started to pick up the empty ramen cups, paper napkins, and other garbage on the floor. Miroku tried to keep his eyes on the floor and away from Sango but it wasn't easy, her skin was still flushed pink from the hot spring and her black hair was shiny and smooth, Miroku's hand itched to touch it and other parts of her body as well. He had stopped his work and was now watching Sango; she was bent over slapping a dirty towel with her hand. Miroku's mind reeled and before he could stop it his imagination had picked up on 'Sango', 'slapping' and 'dirt'...but the towel-the towel his mind had replaced with him.

Miroku quickly tore his eyes away from Sango as he fought for control of his thoughts and tried to remember what it was he was supposed to be doing. Seeing the dirty napkin in his hand triggered his memory and he resumed cleaning the floor of the hut, hopefully, he thought, if only for his sake, InuYasha and the others would return soon.

Kagome's anger had subsided almost immediately after she left the hut but she knew there was no way InuYasha would ever apologize for being a pig if she went back in and apologized for her out burst. She walked a ways and started to pick wild flowers, she loved the smell of wild flowers, their aroma always reminded her of...InuYasha. It reminded her of InuYasha's scent, the way he smelled when he held her close and protected her from danger; and she wished that she could stay that way in his arms forever. Knowing InuYasha was not about to admit to having even an inkling of feelings for her, Kagome shook the fantasy images from her mind's eye and continued on her way.

InuYasha had lost Kagome's scent when he and Shippou had reached a large grassy meadow over run with wild flowers. The smell overpowered InuYasha's nose and made his brain feel fuzzy, Shippou wasn't feeling much better, the aroma of flowers tickled his sensitive nose causing him to sneeze again and again. "Shimatta!" cried InuYasha, he sniffled and wiped at his red puffy eyes, Shippou sneezed again and they started to walk aimlessly through the meadow in search for Kagome. They didn't make it very far before they had to stop, the dizzying smell was too powerful and soon the hanyou and kitsune both lost consciousness.

Kagome was not too far off from where InuYasha and Shippou had collapsed when she decided to head back, she had forgotten her hunger in her fit of rage and now that it was nearing mid-afternoon she felt half starved. As she headed back with her arms full of wild flowers, Kagome spotted something red laying in the meadow, and as she got closer she caught glimpses of other colors as well. White, orange, blue, finally Kagome came to where InuYasha and Shippou-chan were, "InuYasha?" Kagome called, she got down on her hands and knees, dropped her flowers and firmly shook InuYasha; it was then that she noticed that InuYasha's eyes looked swollen shut and red blotches covers his hands, neck and face.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome cried in fear and disgust, "INUYASHA, PLEASE WAKE UP! ...YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!" Kagome cried again frantically.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own InuYasha

A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this up.

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Kagome continued to shake InuYasha, "InuYasha! InuYasha!" Her cries broke through Shippou's foggy consciousness, "Kagome-chan? What's happened?" Shippou asked weakly. "Oh Shippou-chan! Shippou-chan, you're awake. I'm so glad you're all right, I was so worried…" Kagome said scooping up the small kitsune and hugging him tightly, glad to see he was okay.

"Kagome-chan?"

"Hn?"

"Please let me go, I can't breath." Said a breathless Shippou.

"Oh, gomen Shippou-chan" said Kagome setting Shippou down and turning her attention back to InuYasha. "We have to get InuYasha away from here, I think he's suffering from a severe allergic reaction to these flowers." Kagome looked back to "Shippou-chan do feel well enough to transform?" "Hai." A large pink blimp ballooned from where Shippou had stood. "I don't think I'll be able to carry both of you" said Shippou said as Kagome carefully loaded InuYasha's limb body onto him; "That's okay, I'll walk along side you" said Kagome, she made sure InuYasha was situated securely atop Shippou and would not fall then they started to make their way out of the meadow.

InuYasha could hear voices but he couldn't make out the words they spoke, it hurt to move, he tried to lift his head but it felt like it was incased in a lead brick. He felt so weak and tired and soon was asleep.

Sango stood by the door of the hut, InuYasha and Shippou were taking much longer than expected to come back with Kagome. "Houshi-sama, maybe you should go look for them, I'm worried that something might have happened, maybe a demon came for the jewel shards Kagome has…" Sango rambled on as she scanned the horizon for any sign of her friends. "Sango, please come sit down, I'm quite confident that Kagome-sama is capable of looking after herself." Sango seemed to relax a little, "now here, come sit, I'll make you some hot tea" said Miroku trying to ease her worry. Sango gave the horizon one more glance then turned around and accepted Miroku's offer for some hot tea; she sat down next to the fire pit where Miroku was starting a fire and started to absently stroke Kirara.

"Here I crushed some mint and chamomile leaves in there, it should help calm your nerves" Miroku handed Sango a steaming cup of tea; "Arigato." Sango said in almost a mumble, the houshi's kind gesture had made her blush. Sango's face burned and she hastily took a sip of tea in a attempt to hide behind he cup, the tea having had just been made and not cool enough to drink, burned the inside of Sango's mouth and throat, causing her great discomfort. Miroku tried to suppress a giggle but failed, Sango set down her cup and made a move to nudge Miroku hard in the ribs, how dare he laugh at her when she was in pain. She leaned sideways, elbow poised, but she lost her balance and before she knew it she was laying atop Houshi-sama.

Both Sango and Miroku froze, neither wanting to move or speak out of fear of how the other would react. Seconds ticked by but it could have been decades and still the awkwardness of the situation wouldn't have had ceased any.

"Kagome how much farther?" Asked Shippou; "The hut is just over that hill," answered Kagome. InuYasha was still unconscious but he didn't look as sickly as he had back in the meadow, still Kagome was worried, she didn't have much in her First-Aid kit and what if InuYasha was more ill than she thought; Kaede's remedies could only do so much. "Kagome" whispered InuYasha, he felt groggy, very groggy. _What had happened to him? Had it been Naraku? _"Kagome" InuYasha said a little louder and he felt her hand on his arm. "It's okay, InuYasha, I'm here."

"Kagome, what happened to me- and why am I so itchy?"

"I'm not sure what happened, you were like this when I found you and Shippou-chan in the meadow."

"So it wasn't Naraku?" InuYasha questioned.

"Iie, I don't think we can blame Naraku for this." Said Kagome. InuYasha sat up, he was feeling better, he hopped down off of Shippou; "InuYasha, I don't think you should be…" Kagome started to protest but was cut off by InuYasha insisting that he was fine, she didn't argue back seeing as it would do no good anyhow. They started to walk and a short while later- "Look, I can see the hut!" Said Shippou, he had transformed back after InuYasha had gotten off and was now riding on Kagome's shoulder.

"Stop scratching, InuYasha" Kagome reprimanded.

"Keh, it itches so much," whined InuYasha, scratching harder.

"I have some calomine lotion in my bag" said Kagome as they neared the hut. InuYasha whined again fidgeted trying not to scratch, "stop being such a baby" Kagome responded as they entered the hut to a very interesting sight.

Sango was laid awkwardly atop Miroku and there seemed to be tea involved; the three of them stood frozen in the doorway trying to take it in, InuYasha suddenly developed a nervous twitch in his left eye and Kagome quickly reacted in covering Shippou-chan's eyes. Before either Kagome or InuYasha could say anything Miroku suddenly sprang to life and wriggled out from under Sango, and exclaimed, " It's not what it looks like!" He frantically and successfully cove up the wet spot that had formed on his robes.

"That's hard to believe, coming from a lecher like you" scoffed InuYasha, absently scratching the back of his neck; "Ieie, honest, nothing happened or was going to happen, Sango just lost her balance" said Miroku trying to right the misunderstanding. "It's true, InuYasha, I fell over" said Sango as she brushed some dirt off from her skirt. The subject was quickly dropped and Kagome went to her bag to find the calomine lotion, InuYasha hadn't stopped scratching and the last thing she needed was for him to develop an infection. Kagome helped InuYasha remove his kimono and undershirt, "Yow"!" InuYasha yelped as the fabric rubbed against one of the sores he had opened with his persistent scratching. "I told you not to scratch," sighed Kagome as she knelt behind him with the bottle of calomine lotion and began to dab pink dots of it on his back with a cotton ball.

"Shippou, come help me start dinner" called Sango; Shippou had been watching curiously as Kagome continued dab the pink lotion on the back of InuYasha's neck. "Sure thing" chirped Shippou and he bound over to where Sango was throwing wood on the fire Miroku had started earlier.

After Kagome had covered InuYasha's upper body in pink lotion she gave him the bottle and some cotton balls and instructed him to go outside and apply it to his lower body, using the bushes for privacy. InuYasha did as he was told, taking his kimono with him; he went behind the hut where there were no windows and set down the bottle of lotion, cotton balls, and kimono on a large rock and began to remove his pants. He placed his pants on the same rock and started to dab his legs with soothing lotion.

As he stood there naked and covered in pink lotion, InuYasha started to feel guilty about the way he had treated Kagome at lunch earlier. He tied his kimono around his waist and gathered up his pants and lotion; he would apologize in the morning when he could have some alone time with Kagome.

Back in the hut Sango was boiling rice, Kagome's stomach growled, between getting mad at InuYasha and then begin worried sick about him she hadn't eaten a thing all day. Sango and Shippou were dishing the rice into bowls when InuYasha re-entered the hut wearing nothing but his kimono around his waist to cover himself. Kagome instantly flushed a deep red as InuYasha walked towards her to hand her back the calomine lotion. The instructions on the on the bottle read: **Do not cover infected area for 5 to 10 minutes after applying**, 'okay, I only have to deal with this for a few minutes, I can do that' thought Kagome and took a bowl of rice offered to her by Shippou, "Arigato, Shippou-chan".

Dinner progressed in a quiet manner, everyone ate rice –which was all they had thanks to InuYasha and Shippou –till they were stuffed; InuYasha went outside to dress after he was done eating. The lotion had dried into peeling patches of pink that Kagome promised he could wash off in the morning. It had been an unproductive day as far as finding any jewel shards went, but the events of the day had drained the group's energy and they all turned in for the night before the sun had fully set.

A/N: Review!


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